HE MAY only be nine, but Adhav Radhakrishnan has proved he’s a real boy wonder The talented youngster really made the grade and proved he’s top of the class by passing a GCSE science exam.

Four Lanes Junior School pupil Adhav, from Chineham, achieved a B grade in the combined science paper.

His interest in science developed when his aunt gave him a Key Stage 2 science book, which Adhav finished reading within two weeks. He used the internet to research science further, becoming interested in the nervous system and how it works.

His mother Roopa said she wanted to encourage his interest in the subject and so registered him to take the GCSE science exam.

She said: “Not many exam centres were happy to take a nine-year-old as a private candidate. Many said that you can do maths exams at this age, but not science as it has four written papers and practical coursework. But finally a centre in Bristol accepted him for the exam.”

Adhav was taught by two friends of the family, who helped him prepare for the exam with experiments using various kitchen cupboard ingredients.

Mrs Radhakrishnan said: “If we ran out of cooking oil, salt, soda, lentils etc, it was due to Adhav’s experiments. He broke the fridge’s automatic door switch to understand how it works.”

Adhav took four exams in physics, chemistry, biology and an individual skill assessment test.

His mother said: “The whole family, particularly his seven-year-old sister Attsaya, supported Adhav continuously throughout his exam preparation and we are all pleased with his result.”

Adhav hasn’t told his friends about his GCSE success, but he doesn’t think they’ll believe him any way.

He said: “I look forward to hearing what they say.”